Pope Francis gives his weekly Angelus address on Sunday, Aug. 7, 2022. / Vatican Media
Vatican City, Dec 11, 2022 / 08:35 am (CNA).
Pope Francis said Sunday he is concerned about recent deadly clashes in the northern part of South Sudan.
“I follow with sorrow and concern the news from South Sudan about the violent clashes of the past few days,” he said Dec. 11 at the end his Sunday Angelus message.
“Let us pray to the Lord for peace and national reconciliation, so that the attacks may cease and that civilians may always be respected,” Francis said Sunday, after violence broke out in South Sudan’s Upper Nile state, in the north-eastern part of the country, last week.
United Nations agencies said over 9,000 people were displaced in the clashes, and an unknown number of people were killed.
Pope Francis’ Feb. 3-5 visit to South Sudan, which he will undertake together with the archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the moderator of the Church of Scotland, Iain Greenshields, is to be a “pilgrimage of peace.”
The pope’s journey to South Sudan will follow a three-day visit to the city of Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The motto of the South Sudan trip comes from John 17: “I pray that all may be one.”
The dates of the pope’s travels to the two African countries was announced earlier this month; it was originally to take place in July but was postponed by the Vatican due to problems with Pope Francis’ knee.
The latest outbreak of violence in South Sudan is a continuation of fighting that began in August in a village in Upper Nile, according to Reuters.
In parts of the country, clashes over access to resources such as water and grazing land are common.
A missionary and bishop in South Sudan told journalists in April that the country is still working to implement peace, and that on his trip, Pope Francis will not find “peace realized, but peace persisting.”
The logistics of the pope’s trip will be difficult, but the national security authorities are prepared to handle it, Bishop Christian Carlassare of Rumbek said via video call April 21. “There are no major risks” to Pope Francis’ safety, he added.
He said the country is also facing economic problems, conflicts connected to the control of resources such as oil, and farming issues caused by hard rains and flooding.
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The President of the Communications Commission of the 2024 International Eucharistic Congress, Father Livingston Olivares (left), accompanies EWTN Vice President for Programming and Production Peter Gagnon (center-right), EWTN Vice President for Spanish-language Production, Marketing, and Radio Enrique Duprat (center-left), EWTN Production Director Michael Holmes (far right), and IEC Quito 2024 Communications Coordinator Marcelo Mejía (front, kneeling) at the Monument to the Equator, the exact location of the Equator (from which the country of Ecuador takes its name) on the outskirts of the country’s capital city of Quito, site of the 2024 International Eucharistic Congress. / Credit: Communications Commission of the 2024 International Eucharistic Congress
ACI Prensa Staff, May 21, 2024 / 06:40 am (CNA).
The 53rd International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) has chosen EWTN as the official channel for providing live coverage of the event, which will take place from Sept. 8–15 in Quito, Ecuador.
“The 53rd International Eucharistic Congress, which will be held in Quito Sept. 8–15, has chosen EWTN as its official channel, which will broadcast everything related” to this great event, said Father Juan Carlos Garzón, secretary-general of the IEC Quito 2024, in a statement sent from Rome to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.
The theme for this year’s International Eucharistic Congress is “Fraternity to Heal the World.” On Monday, the Vatican also announced that Pope Francis designated Cardinal Kevin Farrell, prefect for the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life, as pontifical legate to the congress.
Garzón was in Rome last week as part of a delegation, chaired by Alfredo Espinoza Mateus, archbishop of Quito and primate of Ecuador, “to hold a series of meetings with the main papal authorities.”
Since the beginning of the preparations for IEC 2024, Garzón added: “EWTN has been present at the orientation and training for IEC 2024 communications personnel.”
Logo for the 53rd International Eucharistic Congress that will take place in Quito, Ecuador, from Sept. 8-15, 2024. Credit: Communications Commission of the 2024 International Eucharistic Congress
EWTN preparations for IEC Quito 2024
In tandem, to coordinate EWTN’s transmissions of IEC Quito 2024, a team from the network visited the Ecuadorian capital, including the Quito Metropolitan Convention Center, where the congress will be held.
The team was comprised of EWTN Vice President for Programming and Production Peter Gagnon, EWTN Director of Production Michael Holmes, and EWTN Vice President for Spanish-language Production, Marketing, and Radio Enrique Duprat.
Gagnon said EWTN transmissions of the event will be offered in Spanish, English, and German. “This will be a wonderful event for those attending and for those watching,” Gagnon said.
“For EWTN, it is an immense joy to be the channel for the Quito 2024 International Eucharistic Congress,” Duprat said. “It is essential for us to be the platform on which, no matter where our audience is, everyone can enjoy the most important Catholic events in the Church.”
As for coverage details, Duprat said: “The plan is to be able to offer this International Eucharistic Congress live and direct from Quito and in multiple languages [Spanish, English, and German] both through our television and radio signals, the internet, and through our digital app.”
The event coincides with the 150th anniversary of the 1874 consecration of Ecuador to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In 1886, Quito was also the site of the first National Eucharistic Congress.
During their preparatory visit, the EWTN team traveled the route of a procession that will take place on Sept. 14 in the historic center of Quito, which will begin with a Mass in San Francisco Plaza and then head to the Basilica of the National Vow, where benediction will be given.
They also visited the IEC offices, where they were received by Garzón, who explained how the organization of the event is progressing, including the schedule of a theological symposium to be held Sept. 4–7, just prior to the Sept. 8–15 congress.
The EWTN delegation also visited the Middle of the World Park and Monument to the Equator, marking the equator dividing the northern and southern hemispheres and where a Liturgy of the Word is planned with emphasis on care for creation.
Registration underway
Registration for the International Eucharistic Congress, both for the theological symposium and for the congress itself, is underway and available through the event website.
The largest Catholic media organization in the world, EWTN’s 11 global TV channels and numerous regional channels are broadcast in multiple languages 24 hours a day, seven days a week to over 425 million television households in more than 160 countries and territories. EWTN platforms also include radio services transmitted through SIRIUS/XM, iHeart Radio, and more than 600 domestic and international AM and FM radio affiliates and a worldwide shortwave radio service.
Headquartered in Washington, D.C., EWTN News operates multiple global news services, including Catholic News Agency; The National Catholic Register newspaper and digital platform; ACI Prensa in Spanish; ACI Digital in Portuguese; ACI Stampa in Italian; ACI Africa in English, French, and Portuguese; ACI Mena in Arabic; CNA Deutsch in German; and ChurchPop, a digital platform that creates content in several languages. It also produces numerous television news programs including “EWTN News Nightly,” “EWTN News In Depth,” “EWTN Pro-Life Weekly,” and “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
St. Louis, Mo., Nov 16, 2022 / 17:00 pm (CNA).
The U.S. Senate voted 62-37 Wednesday to pass a bill that would federally recognize same-sex marriage and provide legal protections for interracial marriages.The Respect… […]
Pope Francis celebrated his 86th birthday with the Missionaries of Charity, honoring three people who care for “the poorest of the poor” with the Mother Teresa Award on Dec. 17, 2022. / Vatican Media
There are some that are not peaceful. Though they wish to be treated with respect and understanding, still, at their core, conquest of others is their aim. Only Jesus Christ can influence and change a man from combative to having peace with God and ones fellow man.
As these emissaries of peace go forward, may God grant them insight and discernment to bless those whom they meet.
Hebrews 13:6 So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”
Psalm 118:6-9 The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? The Lord is on my side as my helper; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.
Isaiah 41:10 fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand
Romans 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Romans 12:18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
Matthew 7:12 “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
Yes, well, OK fine. It’s nice that the pope is concerned.
There are some that are not peaceful. Though they wish to be treated with respect and understanding, still, at their core, conquest of others is their aim. Only Jesus Christ can influence and change a man from combative to having peace with God and ones fellow man.
As these emissaries of peace go forward, may God grant them insight and discernment to bless those whom they meet.
Hebrews 13:6 So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”
Psalm 118:6-9 The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? The Lord is on my side as my helper; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.
Isaiah 41:10 fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand
Romans 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Romans 12:18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
Matthew 7:12 “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.